Kenner council candidates continue to spend money

Mary-Sharon Howland continues to raise and spend more money than Keith Reynaud in the campaign for the open 3rd District seat on the Kenner City Council, according to their latest campaign finance reports. Howland's campaign said it received $20,470 in contributions between March 5 and April 1. She also was given wooden stakes valued at $739 for yard signs.

Mary-Sharon Howland, left, and Keith Reynaud

Most of her money, however, was raised before the March 24 primary, when she finished second with 42 percent of the vote to Reynaud's 45 percent. She received $2,100 after the primary, her report said.

Howland had $4,173 in her campaign finance account as of April 1, the mandated cutoff date for the latest regular reports to the state Ethics Administration. She loaned her campaign $400 on March 24 and another $1,000 on April 9, according to a special report. Candidates must file special reports within 48 hours of raising more than $500 from a single source in the final days before an election.

Reynaud is largely self-financing his campaign, according to his report. He reported receiving $1,125 in donations, giving his campaign $1,362 and loaning it $5,000 between March 14 and April 11. He had $1,219 on hand as of April 11.

Candidate reports that are due 10 days before the run-off are supposed to cover the period from March 5 to April 1, but candidates sometimes misunderstand and write their reports to cover through the due date, said Chris Sommers of the Ethics Administration.

Reynaud reported spending $11,449 on the campaign during the reporting period. His spending includes advertisements, phone calls, postage and for his election-night party, his report said.

Howland reported spending $21,477 during the reporting period, including money for mailers, consulting and election-day workers, her report said.

The election is Saturday for the Kenner council seat vacated by Ben Zahn after he was elected to the Jefferson Parish Council.